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* Reported 2013 loss of 91.5 mln stg vs 2012 loss of 34.4mln stg
* CEO says heavy investment phase largely completed
* Seeking fresh financing to sustain global network growth
By Eric Auchard
FRANKFURT, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Telecoms company Truphone willforge ahead with rapid expansion of its ground-breaking newbusiness model, its chief executive said on Monday, as it seeksto reverse deepening losses stemming from heavy investment inthe reinvention of its global network.
Previously known for its smartphone app for low-costinternet calls, Truphone has spent 200 million pounds since 2011rewiring itself into a network for frequent business travellersand regular international callers.
This summer Truphone introduced a fixed-rate call and dataplan for business travellers in 66 countries, allowing users toavoid costly roaming charges while outside their home countries.
"We are doing away with the concept of roaming," ChiefExecutive Steve Robertson said of a move intended to outflankthe likes of AT&T, T-Mobile, Telefonica,Telstra and Vodafone by offering flat-fee ratesand features such as global voicemail and voice recording forcustomers including some of the world's biggest banks.
However, development of the new model has come at a cost.The privately held London-based company, which is majoritycontrolled by Russian steel magnate Alexander Abramov, said in afiling with Companies House last month that annual losses hadwidened to 91.5 million pounds ($146 million) in 2013, against a34.4 million pound loss the previous year.
It also warned, not for the first time, that it needs toraise fresh financing if it is to remain a going concern.
Truphone has raised in excess of 300 million pounds infinancing over the course of its eight-year history, companyreports show, and officials said that it remains in talks withcurrent and new investors to meet the shortfall.
"The funding situation isn't really one of great concernfrom our perspective," Robertson said. "It is quite a normalcondition for us. Our investors are extremely committed and ...have supported us consistently over the past three years."
BILLIONAIRE BACKER
The company received 75 million pounds in early 2013 fromtwo investors, including Abramov's fellow billionaire and formerEvraz business partner Roman Abramovich.
Neither Abramov nor Abramovich could be reached for commenton Monday.
In addition to its calling plan, Truphone offerspersonalised local numbers in each of eight countries -Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands,Britain and the United States.
Customers receive its patented high-capacity SIM card, whichautomatically connects to local phone networks in the eightmarkets as travellers enter those countries, eliminating phoneor data roaming charges.
Former BT executive Robertson believes that Truphone's newoffering will also prove attractive to individual travellers.
It still provides the voice-over-internet (VOIP) app forconsumers but now makes 90 percent of its revenue from itsmulti-local SIM cards.
"In the next 12 months, we will be looking at moving toconsumer markets as well as serving our core enterprisecustomers," Robertson said of its SIM-card plans.
Truphone is also planning for a quick doubling of the numberof countries where it offers personalised numbers and localdialing plans. "It may be that we accelerate expansion evenbeyond that," he added.
The company considers the heavy investment in thetransformation of its business to be largely complete and hasbeen adding staff aggressively over the past 18 months, roughlydoubling its headcount to between 700 and 800 employees.(1 US dollar = 0.6250 British pound) (Editing by David Goodman)
